There is always hope
by apple-tree
Summary: The life Harry Potter knew ended when they put him into Azkaban. But even in the darkest times there's hope...
1. Prologue

_Hi there! This is a fic I wrote out of boredom._

_It's going to be HP/CC._

_Hope you like it!_

_Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling_

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**There is always hope**

Azkaban.  
  
The name is poison to me.  
  
Guarded by the most feared creatures on this planet, the dementors. They suck out your happy thoughts and are able to torture someone into insanity without even moving.  
  
Being in this prison is worse than death.  
  
I don't know how much strenght I still have, I'm getting weaker with every passing minute.  
  
But I don't care anymore.  
  
My life ended when I was put in here.  
  
Accused of the murder of about a hundred people –muggles- at the King's Cross station.  
  
Sentenced to Azkaban for life.  
  
But I was innocent. I don't know how he did it, but Voldemort managed to trick me.  
  
It happened on September 1st last year. Just when I was about to step through the barrier – I was half an hour early – I heard a loud BANG behind me, followed by a terrible explosion. Everyone in the muggle-part of the station died.  
  
The explosion didn't hurt me, however. So I was standing there in the middle of a destroyed station with countless dead bodies around me.  
  
Three days later I was here. There was a trial, but they didn't let me say a single word. They thought it was obvious. They didn't even use veritaserum.  
  
Nobody could hear my pleas. Practically everyone believed I was the second hand of the Dark Lord.  
  
Remus and Dumbledore didn't. With all their power they tried to defend me.  
  
‚You fools, this is the boy who lost his parents because of Voldemort, this is the boy who defeated him fifteen years ago, how can you accuse him of such a terrible crime?' they shouted at them.  
  
But there was nothing they could do.  
  
The papers soon described Dumbledore as an „old crazy fool"and Remus as a „dangerous werewolf who was probably on the dark side".  
  
Both had to leave the magical world. Because they believed in me.  
  
Nobody has seen them again.  
  
The Weasleys and Hermione didn't believe those „fools"either, but the ministry hold them away from me. Fudge didn't want them to be near me –for their own safety, he said.  
  
I will always remember the last words I heard from Ron...  
  
„YOU BASTARDS! HE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! HE'S OUR ONLY HOPE!"  
  
Then they dragged him away.  
  
Mrs. Weasley was crying uncontrollably.  
  
Hermione and Ginny were just sitting there, tears of disbelieve in their eyes.  
  
It was the last time I saw them.  
  
Nobody has visited me for the twelve months I've been here.  
  
I don't know what happened to my friends. Maybe they're alright, maybe not.  
  
Maybe they have wanted to visit me, maybe not.  
  
But the ministry wouldn't let them anyway. Harry Potter should rot in his cell forever... and no person should contact him. That probably was –and still is of course- their plan.  
  
And it has worked.  
  
I haven't seen a human being since they throw me in here. Just dementors. They suck out the little hope I still have.  
  
It is winter now, I can feel it. Not that it would make a difference to me; prisoners aren't allowed to go outside. Not even to see the sunlight.  
  
It's just the dark cell. Every day, every night.

Suddenly I hear something.

_Shall I continue? REVIEW!_


	2. The visitor

_Hi there!  
  
I'd like to say a gigantic THANK YOU to all you guys who reviewed! It's really motivating!  
  
Here is the second chapter.  
  
Oh yeah, English is not my mothertongue, so it's kinda difficult for me to write stories in the English language. Please note that if you read my fics. I'm doing my best...  
  
However, if there are TERRIBLE mistakes, just let me know; I will survive flames..._

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**Chapter 2 – The visitor**

The heavy door to my section opens with a long creaky sound.  
  
Then I hear footsteps.  
  
Footsteps.  
  
A dementor? No, they don't walk, they don't make a sound at all when they're moving.  
  
Who is it, then?  
  
The tapping sound of the footsteps is coming closer.  
  
Closer...  
  
And then it stops.  
  
A man. The shape of a human being. The shape of something I haven't seen for a long time.  
  
The darkness doesn't allow me to see the person clearly, however.  
  
A few seconds of silence pass.  
  
Then the man begins to speak in a low, monotone voice.  
  
„Prisoner Harry Potter, you have a visitor. You are allowed to leave your cell for fifteen minutes"  
  
I know that voice, I've heard it before.  
  
But that's not important.....  
  
A visitor.  
  
Someone is here to see me. Someone has come to this island of doom to visit Harry Potter, the ‚second hand of the Dark Lord'.  
  
The man –he's hooded- opens my door and for the first time since I was put in here I can leave my dark cell.  
  
„Please follow me" the man says in his monotone voice.  
  
My legs are hurting when I walk beside the man. Well, I practically haven't used them for a year.  
  
He leads me out of my section into a corridor I haven't seen before. Well, how could I have? When I look around I notice two dementors. Patroulling. Torturing the still sane minds in this prison.  
  
I don't even show any visible reaction anymore when they're near me. I've gotten used to their dark aura by now. Of course, my mind still reacts. As long as you have not passed the point of insanity your mind screams in pain whenever dementors, the creatures of hell, are near you...  
  
I suddenly notice that the man hasn't put any bounding charm onto me.  
  
He hasn't even his wand out...  
  
What is going on? I'm supposed to be one of the most dangerous criminals in the wizarding world, probably almost as feared as Voldemort himself, so why am I here walking beside a man –probably an auror-, who obviously doesn't even think of the possibility that I'd try to hurt him or escape?  
  
My thinking is interrupted when the man turns his head to me.  
  
„The visitor is waiting in this room" he says while he's nodding to a large wooden door, his eyes fixed on me.  
  
I can see his face now, but I don't recognize him.  
  
Wait!  
  
Auror.... Order of the Phoenix... Yeah...  
  
„Kingsley Shacklebolt?" I ask him. My voice sounds like the one of an eighty-year-old man. Azkaban changes everything.  
  
The man nods slowly.  
  
Before I can say another word he steps towards the door and opens it.  
  
„Go now"  
  
With a last glance on the Auror I enter the room.  
  
In the middle of the room is a small table with two chairs beside it. One of them is taken.  
  
I stop in my tracks and my eyes widen.  
  
Memories come up in my mind. Memories, filled with both happiness and sadness.  
  
Cho Chang.  
  
I'm just standing there. Unable to move or speak.  
  
She is staring at me with wide eyes.  
  
Azkaban has made me a wreck. Mentally as well as physically. The few sparks of happiness I had in my life before I was sent here were all gone.  
  
Yet hope survived.  
  
Now, while I'm looking into those big chocolate-brown eyes, I feel it...  
  
Hope... and something I haven't felt for a long time. Something that was taken from me, something I was too stupid to hold on once...  
  
I'm falling. Falling deeper and deeper. There's no bottom...  
  
"Hi Cho" I hear myself saying.  
  
The door behind me is closed with a click. I'm alone with Cho.  
  
She is breathtaking. Even more beautiful than then last time I saw her. She looks like an angel. And she is really here.  
  
We just stare at each other.  
  
And then I suddenly blurt out without thinking  
  
"Why did you come?"  
  
She doesn't say anything, but there is a glaze on her eyes now. And then a tear rolls down her soft cheek.  
  
A tear... 

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_It was a short chapter, I know. The next one will be longer. REVIEW!_


	3. A small measure of happiness

_Hi there!  
  
A very loud THANK YOU to all my reviewers!!! You guys are great!  
  
(I've even received a flame –a very curious one actually- LOL)  
  
Here's the third chapter of my story. Yeah, I know, It's not as long as planned, but I haven't got much time to write at the moment (school).  
  
Again: English is not my mothertongue, so forgive me if there are grammar (or spelling) mistakes. I'm doing my best... Of course I accept negative reviews__  
_

_Hope you like it._

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**Chapter 3**** – A small measure of happiness  
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My heart almost explodes. Here I am, three foot away from the girl I had a huge crush on once. Yeah... once. She was the light in my dark world. A happy spark in the miserable life of Harry Potter.  
  
Then, in my fifth year at Hogwarts, I lost that spark. My life became even darker than it was before. I didn't realize it at first...  
  
After the death of my godfather nothing mattered anymore. Cho, my friends, the Order of the Phoenix,...  
  
Everything became irrelevant.  
  
But when the summer passed and school was about to start again, my feelings slowly returned. I felt guilty for all the misery I caused to people around me...  
  
And I longed for the once bright spark...  
  
But I was sure it was gone... It would never return...  
  
And then, when I was in the highest stadium of self-doubt, they sent me to Azkaban.  
  
Now, after a year of agony, destiny had mercy and sent me an angel.  
  
This angel is in front of me right now. And she's crying.  
  
Suddenly she gets up and slowly steps forward – half sobbing – and looks into my eyes, as if I was a ghost. Then, very softly, she touches my face.  
  
I'm ready to faint. The feeling is... undescribable. My heart aches from shock, but at the same time I feel like... like flying. Flying through the skies, feeling the air around me, sensing the spirit of nature...  
  
I feel free.  
  
„Harry"she whispers, still sobbing lightly, „Harry, I'm sorry..."  
  
I want to say something, but no sound escapes my mouth. There's a huge knot in my throat. Then, finally...  
  
„Don't be..."  
  
She is looking at me with her chocolate-brown eyes, which are far too beautiful for this sad world. Tears are clearly visible on her cheeks.  
  
Emotions are overwhelming me. Sadness, regret, loneliness...  
  
But there's something else...  
  
A warm feeling somewhere deep inside me... like a white bird flying through the dark clouds above a doomed world....  
  
Suddenly she wraps her arms around my body and hugs me tightly. I'm shocked by her reaction at first, but soon I feel comfortable in her arms and begin to relax.  
  
„Harry... I've...I've tried to come many times, but they didn't let me..:" Cho sobs while she's clinging to me.  
  
Another jolt of shock rushes through my body. She has tried to visit me...  
  
She hasn't forgotten me...  
  
A dreamy expression comes up to my face, followed by a small smile. Who cares about being imprisoned in Azkaban if the girl of your dreams is thinking of you...  
  
Just then realization hits me: We had a row that teared us apart. She must probably hate me now.  
  
But then why did she come?  
  
„I'm sorry that things didn't work out between us"  
  
I mentally slap myself for saying that now. But I can't control myself, my heart is taking over.  
  
„I should have apologized to you a long time ago"  
  
My insides are getting heavier. The feeling of falling again. From the happy moment I've just had, from the white cloud I've just been lying on, I'm falling back into a dark world of misery.  
  
„I'm sorry for everything..."  
  
She doesn't let go of me. Her arms are still wrapped around me and her head buried in my shoulder.  
  
We are just standing there, hugging each other. I'm slowly getting lost in this moment of silent passion. A year in Azkaban has almost destroyed me, but still my mind hasn't turned to the dark side. The light, shining in the deepest part of my soul, has survived. Thoughts of anger and revenge haven't blinded me.  
  
And suddenly I know why I haven't been driven insane in my dark chamber, why I haven't given up hope, why the Dementors haven't been able to destroy me...  
  
I was holding on to something...  
  
I was holding on the thought of Cho...

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_The next chapter is coming soon._


	4. Escape

_Hi there!_

_First of all: Please don't kill me for not updating for six –no, seven months. I won't even search for excuses, I'm just saying I'm very sorry. Hope you aren't mad at me._

_Well, here's the fourth chapter of "There is always hope"_

_Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: Nothing is my own_

**Escape**

We are hugging each other as if there was no end. It's like a beautiful dream.

A prisoner of the magical world, hated and feared, locked away in a dark cell in the most horrible place on this planet, but here I am, in the arms of Cho Chang, the light in my dark world.

"I've missed you" she whispers, still sobbing lightly, "I've missed you so much"

Tears are forming in my eyes. Something that hasn't happened for a year – in Azkaban you can't cry, the horror is too great. Crying means emotions, and in this hell on earth emotions were unknown. Well, if you call suffering an emotion...

But that isn't important right now.

She said she'd missed me.

"I've missed you, too" I say very quietly, while a tear is rolling down my cheek.

After a minute of passion we reluctantly let go of each other. And again I find myself falling into those beautiful chocolate-brown eyes.

We are just staring at each other, completely losing ourselves in this deep emotional moment.

Then I'm suddenly wondering...

"Cho, how did you...I mean...how did you manage to get permission to come here? I thought it was forbidden..."

"I didn't get any permission"

"What?" I ask, confused.

"I'm here illegally" she says while lowering her head

"But... Cho..." I stammer, "why...?"

She slowly looks up again.

"Because I want to be with you"

I just stare at her, not believing what she's saying.

"But... why are you doing this? If anyone finds out you'll be in trouble..."

She smiles sadly

"I'll be in trouble anyway"

"What?… But…"

"Harry, I'm here to get you out of this...this place"

My eyes widen. I want to say something, but nothing comes out.

"Kingsley Shacklebolt out there was the only one who was ready to help me, since he –like me and some others- is convinced that you are innocent. And he is an auror so he is allowed to enter Azkaban prison. I came with him, undetected"

A long minute of utter silence.

Then...

"Cho, I don't think it's possible...and even if it is, do you really want-"

"Yes Harry, I want! You are innocent!"

I sense a strange feeling in my stomach. As if there was a huge volcano-eruption inside me. Someone cared about me!

"But how?"

Instead of responding she looks in the direction of the table which is in the middle of the room. On the small table there is a cloak.

"That's an invisibility cloak, Harry. _Your_ invisibility cloak, actually"

My eyes widen even more.

"How did y-"

"I'll tell you later. Now put it on"

"What?"

"Put it on, we must go"

"But..."

"Harry, please put it on. We can get you out of here. I want... I want to help you"

Her eyes become watery again. What is happening? Half an hour ago I was still in my dark cell, thinking about the past, and now...

"I-I'm sorry, it's just... I'm really confused at the moment..."

I slowly walk towards the table and put the cloak on.

"And now?"

"Stay close behind me. We're going through a tunnel that leads outside. It usually isn't guarded"

"Not guarded?"

"Except for one man nobody has ever managed to get away from here, so the Dementors have become a bit too sure in believing there wouldn't be a chance for prisoners to escape. Now we have to go, stay close behind be"

Before I can open my mouth to say something she walks towards the door. So I follow her as quietly as I can.

Shacklebolt is still standing outside. I hear Cho whisper to him "Ok, we're going through the tunnel"

And with that, he disappears in the other direction.

Cho then leads me through the fortress – I wonder where she learnt so much about Azkaban prison – until we get to a small wooden door.

"There we are" she said

She opens the door as quietly as possible and we step into the darkness behind it.

"Lumos!"

With the light of Cho's wand we march through the tunnel that seemed to be endless. After a few minutes we finally arrive at what looks like a door from early medieval times. Cho then turns around.

"Behind this door is the shore, where a boat is waiting. There might be, however, one or two Dementors patroulling outside. I think it's better if we...well... if you threw the cloak around me as well..."

Is there a blush on her face? Are my eyes cheating me? No, she is blushing...indeed.

I feel strange all of a sudden. So light again, like flying...

I then throw the cloak around the both of us and immediately feel the heat rising up my chest. Cho Chang is standing under the same cloak as I am.

The thought alone makes me blush.

"Ok, let's go. If we see Dementors, it would be the best if we just waited quietly until they move on"

"Ok... and Cho?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you..."

She smiles shyly at me.

"You are innocent"

I almost get mesmerized again by her beauty, until she suddenly leanes forward. My heart is racing so fast I'm sure it's going to explode.

Closer...

I can see the sweet little freckles on her nose

Even closer...

And then the world around me disappears.


End file.
